北海道石狩海岸を事例とした公共海岸の管理におけるインタープリテーションの有効性に関する研究

抄録

Ishikari coast, Hokkaido, has valuable natural beaches, dunes, forest and other natural resources. But in the last few decades, serious environmental problems and conflicts among recreational users have occurred because of heavy recreational use of the coastal areas. However, neither new regulations nor management systems have been established in this area yet. The purpose of this study is to point out the effectiveness of the interpretation method (informing visitors) in help of establishing a system to better manage users’ behaviors. Questionnaire sheets were distributed to 72 Ishikari coast visitors to survey their opinions on the recreational use problems and on ideas about the optimum management of the Ishikari coast in the future. The results showed that the opinions were different between visitors who were informed about the environmental problems of Ishikari coast (interpreted groups) and those were not (non-interpreted groups). The interpreted groups were likely to prefer more conservancy oriented management and environmentally friendly use of coastal natural resources than non-interpreted groups. This result indicates that informing visitors about the environmental problems with the help of an interpreter can be an effective tool for the management of public beach resorts.